Hat-pin retainer



' (No Model.'

' W. VANDENBURGH.

HAT BIN RETAINER.

No. 580,299. Patented'Apr. 6, 1897.

WITH c5555 7 INVEMTU aim/z %g@ NTTE STATES PATENT FFTcE.

\VALTER VANDENBURGH, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

'HAT-PIN RETAINER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 580,299, dated April 6, 1897. Application filed February 18, 1896. Serial No. 5 79,746. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, WALTER VANDEN- BURGH, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hat-Pin Retainers, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

The object of my invention is to produce a hat-pin retainer which will securely hold the hat in place without marring its appearance andwithout making unsightly and destructive perforations therein.

To that end my invention consists of a retainer comprising a perforated base-piece and a thin sheet-metal strip bent upon itself at two points and passed through the perforations in said base-piece and formed into retaining-loops on one side of for retaining a hat-pin.

Figure 1 represents a plan View of one of the pins and bearing-pieces used in my im proved hat-fastener, showing the same in the relative positions occupied when the pin is inserted in the hair of the person wearing the hat on which the fastener is used. Fig. 2 represents a plan view of the pin removed from its bearing-piece. Fig. 3 represents a crosssection on the line a; a: in Fig, 1. Fig. 4 represents a detail view of the manner of forming the loops on the bearing-piece for the reception of the prongs of the pin.

The pin is formed of spring-wire, bent into substantially the shape shown on the drawings in Fig. 1, and it consists of the loop or hand portion A, in which the wire is preferably left intact, it being preferably round in cross-section, the prongs B B, in which the wire is flattened throughout their entire length, with the exception of a small portion of the extreme free ends of said prongs, as at O C, in which the wire is left intact and preferably round in cross-section. The free ends 0 O of the prongs are separated a greater distance than are the opposite ends of said prongs, and said prongs are substantially straight throughout their entire length. The flattening of the prongs of the pins tends to add to the strength of the springy nature of the pins and prevents them from being bent toward each other. It further provides means which operate in connection with the the base-piece peculiar construction of the bearing'pieces to lock the pins within said bearing-pieces, as will be described hereinafter. The prongs of the pins are so formed that their side elevation will be curved so that they will substantially follow the shape of the head of the wearer of the hat upon which they are used and while they are in position to retain the hat in place. The ends of the prongs are left round in cross-section, so that they will easily enter the hair and, if so desired, may be pointed.

The bearing -piece, as illustrated on the drawings, consists of the part D, which is to be secured to the inside of the hat and preferably at the junction of the crown and brim in any suitable manner, but preferably by stitches, one of the parts D being secured on either side of the hat. Upon the part D are formed the loops E E, which, as illustrated on the drawings, are formed by perforating the part D, as at K K, and passing the loops E E of a thin metal strip H H through said perforations. The remaining parts of the metal strip H H project on either side of the perforations K K and serve to prevent the strip from being pulled entirely through the part D.

The loops E E when first formed on the part D are of such a shape and size that they will allow the unflattened or round portions 0 O of the prongs of the pins to be inserted through said loops, but after the pin has been so introduced within the loops said loops are flattened upon the reduced portions of the prongs, so as to conform nearly to the crosssection of said reduced portions, thereby causing the round portions 0 O of the prongs to engage the side of the respective loops E E and thus prevent the pin from being removed from the bearing-piece after it has once been placed within the same in proper position and the loops flattened. At the junction of the hand or loop end of the pin and the flattened portions of the prongs there are shoulders formed, which limit the movement of the pin in its bearing-piece when inserting the pin in the hair to retain the hat in position on the head.

As the prongs are made of spring-wire and the distance between the prongs gradually increases from the hand or-loop end of the pin toward the free ends of the prongs, and as the loops E E in the bearing-piece are separated a distance substantially equal to the distance between the prongs at their junction with the hand or loop end A, it will be seen that a friction is created between the prongs of the pin and the loops on the bearing-piece as the pin is moved to Withdraw Having thus fully described the nature, construction, and operation of my invention, I wish to secure by Letters Patent and clai1n- A hat-pin retainer comprising a perforated base-piece and a thin sheet-metal strip bent upon itself at two points and passed through the perforations in the base-piece and formed into retaining-loops on one side of said basepiece, said loops designed to retain a hat-pin, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 28th day of January, A. D. 1896.

WVALTER VANDENBURGH.

Witnesses:

FRANK G. HATTIE, EDWARD S. DAY. 

